Global law firm White & Case LLP received an "Impact Case of the Year" award at this year's Managing IP EMEA Awards for its work on easyGroup v Premier Inn Hotels.
In this case, completed in 2025, the Firm secured victory for Premier Inn in one of the most high-profile trademark disputes in the UK in recent years. EasyGroup had alleged that the hotel group's "Rest Easy" branding infringed three of easyGroup's registered trademarks: easyHotel, easy (stylized) and Rest Easy Apartments. The claims, if successful, would have had significant commercial consequences for Premier Inn and its network of more than 840 hotels across the UK.
The High Court dismissed all three of easyGroup's claims, ruling that easyGroup was seeking "illegitimately to prevent" competition. The judge said there was a lack of evidence that Premier Inn's "Rest Easy" branding had caused "any actual confusion" among consumers.
